朱家角属北亚热带季风气候区，地势平坦，平均海拔高度在2.8米-3.5米之间，自然资源丰富，有圆津禅院、放生桥、珠溪园等景点，曾入选第三批“中国历史文化名镇(村)”“最美特色小城镇50强”等。
Dearfriends,nowweenterHuaqiaotollstation,itmarksthatwebegintoenterShanghai.It'sstrangewhywealwaysaddtheword"big"infrontofShanghaibecauseitisthelargestcityintheworldintermsofscale,areaandpopulation.EvenIstanbulinTurkeycan'tbecomparedwithShanghai.Whenwecometothiscity,wecanseeShanghaistyle,modernrendering,trafficandpeopleeverywhere,foreignerseverywhere.Therefore,MarkHughes,afamousAmericantraveler,saidthat"comingtoShanghaiislikecomingtotheWest.".Indeed,Shanghai,ametropolis,givespeopletheimpressionthatitisaverywesternizedcity.
SohowbigisShanghai?Let'sanalyzeitfromthreeaspects.First,ithasmanycars.ItisestimatedthatthenumberofvehiclesinShanghaiisthelargestintheworld.Therearemorethan48000taxisinShanghaialone,rankingthefirstintheworld.Second,therearemanypeople.Shanghaihasapermanentresidentpopulationofabout12million,notcountingimmigrants.Itstotalpopulationisabout30million.Thepopulationdensityisabout20000persquarekilometer.Ifyoucomehereonholiday,especiallyinseveralmajorbusinessdistricts,youshouldsay,"lookatyourmouthandlookatyourlegs.".Finally,louduo.WhatimpressedusmostwhenwecametoShanghaiis,wow,whatatallbuilding!Itseemsthatwehaveenteredacitylikeaconcreteforest.Shanghaihasdevelopedrapidlyinrecentyears.Highrisebuildingshavesprunguplikebambooshootsafterrain.Thereare1026high-risebuildingswithmorethan30floorsinPuxi,Shanghaialone.Let'sseeifit'sverypowerful.What'stheactualareaofShanghai?It'smorethan9000squarekilometers.Throughtheabovegroupsoffigures,doyoufeelthatitisbig?Idon'tthinkIneedtosaymore.
IfthespeedofShanghai'sdevelopmentcanbedescribedasamiracle,Idon'tthinkit'stoomuch.Butifwegotoreaditshistory,Ithinkitisadwarfofhistory,noteventhehistoryoftheUnitedStates.Whydoyousaythat?BecausethehistoryofShanghaistartedin1843,andnoonepaidattentiontoitbeforethat.InthecourseofChinesehistory,thereisnoplaceforitatall.Butinashortperiodofoneandahalfcenturies,ithascreatedamyth,amiraclelikeagoldpagoda.Don'tworry.Listentome.Alongtimeago,intheSongDynasty,themostpowerfulhistoricalstageinChina,Shanghaiwasjustasmallfishingvillage.Localresidentsaremainlyfishing.Later,withthedevelopmentoftrade,thesmallfishingvillagebecamelively.Atthattime,therewere18Dapu,includingShanghaiandxiahaipu.Later,people'stradecenterwasmainlyconcentratedinShanghaipuzhuli,somoreandmorepeoplecalleditShanghai.DuringthereignofDaoguangintheQingDynasty,HuatingcountywasofficiallyrenamedShanghai,whichisstillcalledtoday.In1840,theBritishlaunchedthefirstwar,whichlastedtwoyears.Finally,theQinggovernmentandtheBritishgovernmentsignedtheNanjingTreaty,thefirstunequaltreatyinChinesehistory.Inthetreaty,Shanghai,Guangzhouandotherplaceswereforcedtoopenupastradingports,andHongKongIslandwascededtoBritain.InJune1843,thegateofShanghaiwasofficiallyforcedtoopen.ItispreciselybecauseofsuchatreatythatShanghaihasreallygotridoftheshacklesofhistoryandstarteditslegendarycareerasamachine.Inthisway,Shanghaicameintooursight.
WiththepassivedevelopmentofShanghai,itisnolongerasmalltownforgottenbyChinesefeudalgovernment,butaparadiseforforeignersandadventurers.Soon,ShanghaiwasdividedupbytheUnitedStates,BritainandFrance,formingaunique"concession"inworldhistory.Infact,itisacountrywithinacountry.Thenwhereweretheconcessionsofthethreecountrieslocatedintoday'sShanghai?TheBritishconcessionwasthelargestandmostdevelopedareainShanghai.ItwaslocatedinthesouthofSuzhouRiver,eastofJing'anTempleandnorthofyangjinbang(today'sYan'anRoad).NorthofChina'scity(TownGod'sTemple)isaFrenchconcession,andHebei'seastpartofHebeiisthesiteoftheAmericans.Later,theMinistryofindustrysetupapublicconcession,whichistodayZhongshanParkarea.I'mafraidthetermconcessioncan'tbefoundinthewholeworld.ItisamanifestationofChina'sbackwardnessandbeingbeaten.ItwasnotuntilthemiddleoftheSecondWorldWarandaftertheCairoconferencethatthenationalgovernmentofficiallyabolishedallforeignprivilegesinChina.TheconcessiondisappearedcompletelyintheterritoryofChina.However,itslegacyhasbecomethewitnessofthedevelopmentofShanghaitoday,andthevaluablearchitecturalheritageleftbyShanghaitodaytothelaterShanghainese,theBundcomplex.